Powerless
by karikos
Summary: A conversation between Courtney and Patrick during the virus storyline in February. Written for the Every Five Years challenge on LiveJournal.


Courtney stared up at the ceiling as she lay in the hospital bed. Outside, doctors moved frantically from room to room, stopping to check charts and going in to see how their patients were doing. After awhile, she'd gotten tired of watching them, it depressed her too much. She couldn't imagine that most of the patients were doing very well; they were infected with a virus nobody had a cure for.

People had died already and some were getting sicker, including herself. She saw the look in Kelly Lee's eyes when she came in and checked her vitals. The doctor was worried and she tried to hide it. Courtney sighed and closed her eyes, her hand drifting down to her swollen stomach. She was more concerned for her child than for herself. The virus could take the baby from her, it was more vulnerable and fragile than she was. He or she wasn't even fully developed yet and was already under attack.

Courtney heard her door open, but decided not to open her eyes. She didn't want to have to deal with anyone right now. She was tired and just wanted all of this to go away. She wanted out of the hospital bed. "Courtney..." It was Patrick Drake. "Courtney, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

She sighed again and opened her eyes. "As okay as I can be, I suppose." He reached for her hand to check her pulse. "Dr. Lee was just in here a minute ago."

"I know, we're just keeping a very close eye on you. It's bad enough to be infected with a virus like this, but for to be pregnant also, it complicates things."

How many times had she heard that in the past few hours? She knew her baby was in danger, but she was trying not to dwell on it. She needed to think positively; she couldn't focus on losing another baby, especially one this close to being born. This pregnancy was already longer than her first and she didn't know if she could go through a miscarriage again and come out of it alright. So, she was trying her best not to think about the possibility of losing her baby. "How's everyone else doing? I heard about Robin earlier."

Patrick's demeanor changed uncomfortably. "She's okay right now. Fighting, she doesn't want to be laying down in a bed, but her situation is much more fragile than most of the others, given her HIV status. She's stubborn and is putting her health last. It's the doctor in her."

"She doesn't seem like the type to take it lying down." Courtney had only talked to Robin a few times, she didn't know her that well, but she'd heard enough from Carly to put together this opinion on her. Anyone who could go toe to toe with Carly had to be tough. "What about my brother and Nikolas Cassadine? Is anyone showing signs of getting better?"

The doctor removed the stethoscope from around his neck, warmed it in his hands and pressed it to her chest. "Breathe." She did so for him and after a few minutes, he removed it. "Sonny's doing much better, he's pulling through it. We're hopeful that he'll be able to go home sometime soon. Nikolas is about the same, which is good. As long as he doesn't get worse, it's good news. There haven't been anymore cases to come into the hospital, thankfully, and everyone else is quarantined here."

"But there have been some deaths." Courtney stated. The doctors didn't want to think about it and neither did she, but it was a fact. This virus could claim more lives if they didn't get an antidote soon.

Patrick nodded. "Yes, there have. Hopefully, there will be no more and we'll get the antidote soon." He jotted some notes down on her chart and put it back on the tray next to her bed. "Everything seems okay, but Kelly's got us keeping a close eye on you. Someone will be here to check on you in about a half hour and we may want to do an ultrasound."

"'We'? I thought you were a neurosurgeon, did you switch your specialty, Dr. Drake?" Courtney inquired, her voice a teasing tone.

He chuckled and shook his head. "In times of crisis, Miss Matthews, we rarely stick to our specialties. But, Dr. Lee will probably be the one doing the ultrasound. Like I said, she's got all of us making sure that you don't get any worse and your baby is okay. Team work." Patrick walked out the door and smiled. "Try to rest and I'll see you in a little while."

"Thanks." Courtney said as he left the room and she sunk back into her pillows, pulling the blankets up further. She was tired and needed to sleep. Before doing so, though, she silently prayed that everyone would come out of this okay, especially her baby.


End file.
